The Role of Social Intelligence, Big Five Personality traits and Psychological Adjustment on University Students’ Intercultural Competence
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Date
2025-06
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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the role of social intelligence, big five personality
traits and psychological adjustment on university students’ intercultural competence. The
research utilized a correlational research design. Data were collected twice: initially for
instrument validation, involving reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA),
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), as well as convergent and discriminant validity
assessments, with 476 participants (male = 244; female = 232). The reliability and validity of
the instruments were deemed satisfactory. The factor analysis conducted for instrument
validation indicated that most items were valid and suitable for the constructs they aimed to
measure, which was further supported by favourable fit indices. Additionally, evidence for
acceptable convergent and discriminant validity was established. The second round of data
for the main study were collected from 528 participants (male = 276; female = 252) through
proportionate stratified random sampling techniques. Measure of relationship, structural
equation model (SEM) and MANOVA were used to analyze the data. The findings showed
that a sizable percentage of participants, 36.7%, 38.5%, and 41.1%, scored lower than the
mean in intercultural competence, social intelligence and psychological adjustment,
respectively indicating a low level in these domains. The findings also showed that social
intelligence, Big Five personality traits and psychological adjustment together explained
81% of the variation in university students' intercultural competence. When controlling for
other variables, psychological adjustment emerged as the strongest predictor of intercultural
competence, followed by social intelligence, agreeableness, and openness among personality
traits. Standard multiple linear regression analysis indicated students' class year, linguistic
abilities, and parental education levels as significant predictors of overall intercultural
competence and its four dimensions. Moreover, there were significant differences in students'
intercultural competence due to sex and the types of cultures they experienced prior to
enrolling in university. However, no significant mean difference in intercultural competence
was found between respondents from intact and non-intact homes. In conclusion, all major
variables, except for family structure and neuroticism personality traits, have a statistically
significant impact on university students' intercultural competency. The study's results
addressed a range of practical and theoretical insights, as well as limitations and
recommendations for future research.
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Keywords
Intercultural competence, social intelligence, psychological adjustment, big five personality trait, university students, Ethiopia